A master-level assault... Zhang Yuanqing gasped, lowering his head to gaze at the hollow in his chest. An attack that shattered his electromagnetic shield, inflicted a fatal wound, and surpassed even the peak Saint's reaction threshold—this had to be power at the Sovereign stage. The second wave was also Sovereign-level. What about the third? Moreover, the dragon's breath moved at near-light speed, utterly impossible to evade—much like ordinary people could never dodge bullets at close range. Zhang Yuanqing's sense of crisis exploded within him. Stay calm, stay calm. The dragon's attack always begins with its eyes glowing. I'll have less than a second to react... As soon as he thought this, the dragon's eyes flared red. His scalp tingled, his adrenaline surged, and he darted out, catching his sliding cleats and hurling them onto the ship, then slid into them with a precise, controlled motion, his feet precisely fitting into the cleats. His body instantly became translucent, as though a projection from another world. At the same time, a blazing, scorching beam struck his fading silhouette, shattering the display case nearby and piercing the weak water with intense heat. Undeniably, the merchant's ability to maintain his presence in the void is a top-tier survival skill—though his sliding shoes are of saint-tier quality, as soon as he activates the void state, he can perfectly evade both spiritual and physical attacks. Indeed, a true mudskipper among the spiritual realm travelers—difficult to hit, hard to grasp, with exceptional survival capabilities. After deflecting the attack, Zhang Yuanqing immediately drew out a vial of life essence and plunged it firmly into his neck, fully infusing the golden liquid into his veins. The hollowed-out flesh at his chest began to pulsate, growing and healing. The dragon's eyes flickered again… Thus, Zhang Yuanqing glided smoothly across the small boat, using precise anticipation to evade six scorching breaths of the dragon. Yet he had reached the limit of his sliding shoes, thanks to the added support from the master artisan's ring, allowing him to glide one more time. Seven times now—how many times must one endure before it's truly over? At this level of combat, the killing quest should Zhang Yuanqing felt uneasy. To be safe, he pulled out the little red hat, produced a fourth-tier yin corpse, and then tossed over the flawless human skin. Just as he finished these actions, the dragon's eyes flashed red light. Damn! Without hesitation, he maneuvered the yin corpse, donned the flawless human skin, and transformed himself into his own appearance. At the same time, he awkwardly grabbed his head and collapsed to the ground. The scorching dragon breath, as expected, targeted the yin corpse, piercing its chest and abdomen with a bright crimson beam. The yin corpse collapsed dramatically, while the flawless human skin voluntarily detached from the lifeless "host." Zhang Yuanqing quickly rushed over, retrieved the flawless human skin, pushed the discarded yin corpse into the weak water, and then watched the dragon with cautious alertness. For a full fifteen seconds, the dragon remained motionless. "Phew..." Zhang Yuanqing exhaled, having endured eight scorching dragon breaths—eight attacks of master-level intensity! Finally over! Hey, was it particularly difficult with the second-floor display case, or had we somehow triggered the hell mode? If every hall on the second floor is this challenging, I don't think anyone else will make it! Zhang Yuanqing muttered his frustration, unable to relax at all, as the third wave of trials was approaching. He quickly pulled out a matchbox, struck a match, and made a wish: "I wish the cooldown of the Thor set's skills to immediately end." Then he reached for Little Red Cap, shaking off a transcendent shade—she was the last of the saint-tier shades. The transcendent shade struck a match and made her own wish: "I wish the number of uses for 'Furious Slide' to be reset." Both wishes came true, and the shade was successfully sacrificed, transforming into a bright torch that burned to ash. In fact, the most reliable approach would have been to reset the perfect human skin's ability, but since the skin is a causality-type item with a higher status than the rule-based matchbox, the wish couldn't be fulfilled—thus, a match was wasted. "Aaaahhh!" A powerful, resonant roar shook the hall. Zhang Yuanqing felt a sudden jolt in his heart, knowing this was the third wave of the dragon's breath test signaling its arrival! He swiftly folded up the matchbox, donning the Thunder God's suit and the sliding cleats as he listened and turned toward the sound. There, the colossal dragon seated on the pedestal, its membranous wings vibrating, had risen into the air—unaffected by the weak, all-encompassing water. A few seconds later, the electromagnetic cannon's power waned, and Zhang Yuanqing, his right arm completely carbonized, slid urgently to avoid the direct jet of flame. The dragon shifted its flame, enveloping him. As Zhang Yuanqing rose, he was instantly engulfed by the fire—his clothes and hair turned to ash within seconds, his skin reddened, darkened, and carbonized. Was this the third phase of fire? How long would it last? Ignoring the pain, he slid again to the other side of the ship, and the flame followed. Repeating this slide-and-avoid maneuver six times, Zhang Yuanqing was once more enveloped by flames. The dragon's breath nearly covered the entire small vessel. The Lixin wood, a master-grade material immune to water and fire, began to glow red under the intense heat and showed signs of carbonization at its surface. Within just a few seconds, Zhang Yuanqing's skull began to burn out, turning bright red and luminous. With great effort, he activated the power of the Sun God, forming a shield on his body's surface. He opened his inventory, retrieved all the life essence, and chewed it thoroughly, swallowing the liquid along with the glass fragments. Then, he withdrew the companion moon spirit and pressed it against the glowing, red skull. The companion moon spirit significantly enhanced the Yin energy, making him a primary practitioner of the Yin energy, a night-wandering deity—while the strength of Yin energy directly determined the upper limits of his vitality and self-healing capacity. Woven patterns in vine-like forms spread across the skull, and the powerful Yin energy brought a gentle coolness, countering the heat and preventing the red-hot bone from cooling down. The life-source liquid accelerated the regeneration of flesh and blood, continuously renewing, burning, and regenerating—repeating this cycle. Zhang Yuanqing, though burned, remained half-conscious, feeling as though he had turned into a fire-resistant piece of wood; his consciousness might collapse before the wood itself turned to ash. He trembled, opening his inventory and pulling out the Houtu boots to put them on. Though the Houtu boots offered no defense, they enhanced endurance and improved his resilience. Finally, Zhang Yuanqing activated the electromagnetic protection of the Thunder God's set, and beneath the bright blue electromagnetic shield, he collapsed suddenly, remaining motionless. The flame lasted for thirty seconds before the dragon subdued its breath, spread its wings, and soared back to the base, transforming once more into a bronze statue. The small boat floated silently, its hull blackened and smoking, glowing with a steady red light. Zhang Yuanqing had turned into a carbonized corpse, with his red-burnished bones and bloodwaters faintly visible. After a few minutes, the carbonized body opened its eyes, emitting a pained groan. It took a long while before Zhang Yuanqing managed to retrieve the mountain deity's staff, applied a healing spell to himself, and slowly rose to his feet, gazing toward the blank scroll in the east. On the scroll, the ancestral mansion had vanished, replaced by a dark, ink-wash forest. Within the forest stood a locust tree, upon which hung Xiao Yuan, Huang Taiji, Qing Zhu, and Alysia. Xiao Yuan and Qing Zhu stared blankly, their tongues protruding, their lives hanging by a thread. Alysia and Huang Taiji were deeply distressed, struggling desperately, yet unable to free themselves. The earth monster wasn't good at handling spiritual beings, so Father's strengths couldn't be fully utilized... Zhang Yuanqing gritted his teeth, raised his blackened, bone-exposed arms, and clutched the wooden oars that had been split in two, struggling to row. Given the condition of Xiao Yuan and Qing Zhu, they likely couldn't detach themselves from the scroll on their own—action had to be taken immediately to resolve the issues in the exhibition hall and rescue them from within the scroll. Zhang Yuanqing rowed his charred boat to the giant dragon, whose base was now fully submerged; he lifted his feet and reached out, successfully removing the two gems from the dragon's eye sockets. After briefly reviewing the items' attributes, he rowed toward the elderly man dressed in ancient Greek attire, with a long beard and broad nose. As soon as he took hold of the heavy staff, he felt dizzy and nauseated, with his senses clearly disoriented. At that moment, the two gems in his hands emitted a warm glow, calming the chaos. Zhang Yuanqing hurriedly stored the staff in his inventory, completing the bonding process, then retrieved it and raised it high, activating the "Confusion" skill toward the distant Jade Pure Bottle. The gurgling sound of water momentarily ceased, and the next instant, the weak water throughout the room surged backward, flowing back into the Jade Pure Bottle. Success! Only now did Zhang Yuanqing truly feel relieved. He maneuvered his small boat to dock in front of the scroll, summoned Lady Yin Yao, bestowed upon her the wine god's staff and the dragon eye gem, and entrusted her with maintaining the reversal state of the Jade Pure Bottle. He then stepped into the scroll. The scene instantly transformed. Zhang Yuanqing found himself in a dense, eerie forest, the night air misty and solemn, with mountain mist swirling around him. Four of his teammates hung from the great holly tree. In his view, there were five figures hanging from the tree—four of his teammates, with a ghost in the middle, dressed in red robes and wearing embroidered shoes. She faced away from Zhang Yuanqing, her body sagging on the rope, gently swaying with the night breeze. Noticing the arrival of newcomers, the female spirit suddenly turned to face Zhang Yuanqing. Her eyes, bulging with blood vessels, were swollen and covered in maggot-like insects; her lips were dark and swollen, making her appearance profoundly eerie. Did you come to scare me? Zhang Yuanqing exhaled a steady breath, black, viscous energy rising in her eye sockets, the vine-like patterns on her face glowing with a dark light, while golden energy surged from her palms, coalescing into a long sword of solar power. At the same time, the psychic assault from the sorcerer locked her in place. Whether it be the Yin, the Yang, or the sorcerer—each was a celestial force that overcame the spirit of resentment. Undeterred, the female spirit, who held the position of sovereign, quietly turned back to face her own body. "Snap! Snap! Snap! Snap!" One after another, four ropes snapped, and her teammates fell, disengaging from the enchantment—some gasping, others coughing violently. "How did you manage to enter? Did you pass the Dragon Breath trial?" Alicia, rubbing the deep purple marks on her snowy neck, looked at Zhang Yuanqing, The Qingzhu expressed her gratitude with evident anxiety in her eyes. Xiao Yuan and Huang Taidi held an unwavering confidence in the Prime Immortal, and upon seeing him appear, immediately calmed the fluttering worry in their chests. Xiao Yuan examined her love, now flesh-and-blood ruined and severely carbonized, and gently asked, "How is his condition?" Without hesitation, she reached into her inventory and pulled out a small ceramic jar, then extracted a plump cicada pupa to feed him. Zhang Yuanqing opened his mouth in coordination, swallowed two pupae, and said: "Outside is now safe—let's get out of here quickly." At present, he could still contain the vengeful spirits, but after fifteen minutes, the intensity would increase. According to the clay mask's account, within fifteen minutes, the people inside the scroll would inevitably perish. The five of them immediately stepped out of the scroll, crossed through the thin barrier, and landed on the small boat. At this moment, the water level in the exhibition hall had already dropped to waist height—full resolution would still have to wait. Zhang Yuanqing was seriously injured and resting against Xiao Yuan's embrace, recuperating while waiting with his teammates for the weak water to vanish. Now, at last, he had some time to do something else. He opened the leaderboard to check the standings. The rankings had remained largely unchanged—the Sleeping Dragon Title still held first place with 420 points, clearly having also defeated a Lingjing Xingzhe in the second display cabinet and claimed their points. Zhang Yuanqing, with 386 points, settled for second place. It was hard to compete against the Sleeping Dragon Title, which had gained a significant advantage in the first floor of the museum, pulling far ahead of everyone else. Although the rankings had not changed much, the total number of participants had been halved. When they first arrived at the second-floor exhibition hall, there were still 22 saints in the quest; now only 13 remained. Those who had made it to the second floor were the outstanding ones among the saints. These powerful figures, who once ruled the real world, had all fallen in the second stage of the quest. Besides a couple of people he didn't know, the rest were all acquaintances... Hmm, Jiang Ju's points have just surged—when he first started collecting relics, his points were at the bottom of the board. Now, how did he suddenly rise so sharply? Zhang Yuanqing noticed that Jiang Ju had now firmly climbed into eighth place. The only explanation he could think of was that Jiang Ju had single-handedly defeated one of the top ten scorers on the leaderboard. It seemed Jiang Ju was truly wise in his simplicity—hesitant when collecting relics, unfamiliar with puzzle-solving and level-clearing challenges—only when it came to eliminating rivals and seizing their assets did he unleash his full strength. He simply let others earn points, knowing that in the end, they'd all be his. Given Jiang Ju's intelligence and combat prowess, he probably would have fallen in the second stage. He must have had a strategist by his side—though Zhang Yuanqing didn't yet know who it was. At that moment, the weak water in the exhibition hall finally returned to Yu Jingping, completely "emptied" out. Huang Taiji immediately stepped down from the Linnu Ship, relishing the security of standing firmly on solid ground. With Alixia's neck wound healed thanks to Qingzhu's aid, she couldn't help asking, "We should find out how the artifact obtained the key." Throughout their journey, they had never seen the bronze key for the bronze door, nor did they know where it was located. "It's inside the Jade Pure Vessel," Zhang Yuanqing opened his eyes, having long understood the mechanism of the second-floor subplot. "The mask's answer was true, but the method for acquiring the key was incorrect—it requires the use of the Dionysus Staff." As he spoke, he took the Dionysus Staff from Lady Yin Yao and led the group toward the statue of Guanyin. Zhang Yuanqing leaped onto the statue's palm, reactivating the "chaos" function of the Dionysus Staff, then extended his arm into the wide mouth of the Jade Pure Vessel. After a moment of searching, he pulled out a bronze circular plate. To retrieve the key from the Jade Pure Vessel, the staff's chaos effect must be utilized to distort the properties of the weak water. "It's time to meet our old friends on the third floor," Zhang Yuanqing, dressed in his yin-yang robes, smiled.